Young Boys vs Borussia Monchengladbach Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

German side Borussia Monchengladbach will not take anything for granted coming into this Champions League playoff round first leg, with Gladbach’s vice president Rainer Bonhof already stating that the club must be wary of Young Boys. The two-time UEFA Cup winners have had a hard time in the Champions League over recent years. Last year they were drawn alongside Manchester City, Juventus, and Sevilla in the group stages, where they finished last in the group (W1 D2 L3). The season before that they were knocked out in the playoff round by Bosnia-Herzegovina side FK Sarajevo, transferring them over to Europa League competition.

While Borussia M’gladbach are only just ending their pre-season, Young Boys, who finished second in the Swiss Super League last season, already have seven competitive fixtures under their belt. The hosts currently sit fourth in the the Swiss top flight (W2 L2) and entered the Champions League in the third round, playing their first leg around the end of July. Young Boys earned their playoff round spot by eliminating Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on penalties, after both legs ended 2-0 (2-2 overall on aggregate).

By the luck of the draw alone, Borussia M’gladbach and Young Boys face off for only the second time in the clubs’ histories. The two sides first encounter during pre-season a few weeks back ended drawn at 3-3 after 90 minutes, with Gladbach taking away the “win” on penalties. Other than this, Borussia M’gladbach don’t have much of a sample historically against Swiss sides. Gladbach have only faced Swiss opponents competitively once in Europea, collecting four points (W1 D1) against FC Zurich in the 2014/2015 Europa League group stage.

While the Bundesliga side are the bookies’ favourites for this match, we feel that Young Boys should be able to take something away from this match. Firstly, the hosts are already well into the rhythm of competitive football for this season. Secondly, having faced the German side a few weeks back ,they should have a decent advantage knowing how to combat current M’gladbach tactics. Finally, Young Boys have a strong home record in the Champions League, winning two, drawing two and losing just one of their last five against some decent sides (Tottenham and Fenerbahce to name a few). But, with Gladbach coach Andre Schubert announcing that Swiss national team goalkeeper Yann Sommer will in fact be fit for this match, we find it hard to see Young Boys running away with this match.

Hence, a draw at 5/2 and a 1-1 draw at 6/1 are both out top choice bets for this Champions League playoff first leg fixture.